Island Beach

[Rooftree]

Yesterday, I made a trip down to IBSP, to do a little surf fishing and see if I can find the Snowy Owl that had been spotted there the past few days. I had no luck in those cases. At times, in helping to locate fish, you look for working birds hovering over schools of bait fish. To find snowy owl along 10 miles of dunes, you need to locate a group of birders to find the owl. Fisherman are known to be on the beach at the crack of dawn, well birders are there too. I was told a group from Cellular Tracking Technologies located in Rio Grande, NJ were there to tag the owls. They tagged one very earlier in the morning. They laid some type of netting on the ground in the dune area and attached a live pigeon to it. The owl swoop down for the pigeon and got captured in the net. They tagged the owl with a transmitter, then a photo-op for the birders while a man was holding it, and then let it fly away. And; the pigeon survived. That was the only one the group was able to tag and the only one seen by birders.

There as another activity going on. As I was walking up the beach, about a 1/2 mile away, I saw a car going back and forth on the beach in the direction of the dunes. I found out later, Subaru was filming (I guess) a commercial. At that location, just inside the main gate, there is a road into the dunes for State vehicles to access the beach.

There's some pictures from the day, minus the Striped Bass and Snowy Owl. I guess the owls finally read the sign after being there for a few days. (the last pic)

 

[46er]

My 2 sons were there yesterday as well, also were skunked. The Owl's are there, but LE is keeping a close eye for over-eager beavers A lot of whales have been sighted lately, munching on 'Bunker.

An article on the banding by the SnowStorm project;

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/...cle_c23ea124-1ccd-5ff2-9f2d-ca7f394d339e.html

 

[bobpbx]

I don't like banding animals in general, and especially banding of birds. And I don't care who disagrees with me, or who thinks they can persuade me that it's good for the future of the species. I still don't like it.

 

[46er]

I don't like banding animals in general, and especially banding of birds. And I don't care who disagrees with me, or who thinks they can persuade me that it's good for the future of the species. I still don't like it.

Feel better now Bob?

 

[Rooftree]

46er; thanks for the link. Yes, that's the project one of the birders told me. I couldn't remember it. There was one spotted today at A7. It was sitting on a fence post. There is a picture of it on eBird.

 

[bobpbx]

Do you feel better, now that you replied to me? You just cannot help yourself, I know.

 

[manumuskin]

I don't care for the GPS tracking of snakes.I know a 25 year old pine snake that was found dead from an infection caused by the wound from repeated chips inserted under the skin.The battery wears out after awhile and has to be replaced.Perhaps technology has gotten better now.This was back in the 90"s.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

I don't like banding animals in general, and especially banding of birds. And I don't care who disagrees with me, or who thinks they can persuade me that it's good for the future of the species. I still don't like it.

Why not? Honestly it's not something I've given a ton of thought to. Is it detrimental?

 

[bobpbx]

Why not? Honestly it's not something I've given a ton of thought to. Is it detrimental?

A friend and I were hiking about 8,000 feet up in Denali National Park when we saw a wolf about 400 feet higher, loping along with a radio collar on. It was unnatural, and although I can't fully explain why, he looked bothered by it. Every so often he would shake his head as if annoyed with the collar. That really left an impression on me, as well as ruining a perfect wilderness experience.

Now I see all this bird banding going on in NJ; piping plovers, osprey, eagles, falcons, etc. They've been doing it for over 50 years, and I think it's perpetuated by research grants and private funds. They are all over the general public about stressing the birds out, yet they gleefully do it over and over again in the name of science and bird protection.

Birds need space and freedom. If mankind would just provide that, I'd be satisfied. I don't like looking at beautiful birds with plastic leg bands and radio collars attached.

 

[46er]

Is it detrimental?

Just the opposite Sue.

https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/homepage/whyband.cfm

 

[Sue Gremlin]

Yeah, I'll have to side with 46er. I appreciate the thought exercise about it. I don't mean to stoke what is apparently a fire about this topic.

 

[lj762]

These are 2 different things, aren't they? Banding is just a thin metal or plastic loop with an identification number on it. I doubt they bother the bird much. I saw a video of them banding young ospreys at Forsythe. But radio collars and GPS trackers are surely different, with battery and electronics, and I wouldn't argue with anyone who opposes them.

 

[bobpbx]

Yeah, I'll have to side with 46er. I appreciate the thought exercise about it. I don't mean to stoke what is apparently a fire about this topic.

That's alright Sue. I never agree with 46'r about a damn thing anyway.

 

[46er]

That's alright Sue. I never agree with 46'r about a damn thing anyway.

 

[Toothy Critter]

A friend and I were hiking about 8,000 feet up in Denali National Park when we saw a wolf about 400 feet higher, loping along with a radio collar on. It was unnatural, and although I can't fully explain why, he looked bothered by it. Every so often he would shake his head as if annoyed with the collar. That really left an impression on me, as well as ruining a perfect wilderness experience.

Now I see all this bird banding going on in NJ; piping plovers, osprey, eagles, falcons, etc. They've been doing it for over 50 years, and I think it's perpetuated by research grants and private funds. They are all over the general public about stressing the birds out, yet they gleefully do it over and over again in the name of science and bird protection.

Birds need space and freedom. If mankind would just provide that, I'd be satisfied. I don't like looking at beautiful birds with plastic leg bands and radio collars attached.

 

[Toothy Critter]

I think I posted this quote twice sorry Catch an animal, stick a tag on it so later when we catch it again, we can tell its social behavior, or life span, Or what direction it flies and how far? Really? So what have you done with all this useful information that you could not do by just leaving the little buggers alone to fend for themselves as nature intended. We hold that much providence over the animal kingdom? Look at this planet!! How are we protecting wildlife? I think taggers confuse their guilt with righteousness. bobpbx is right. Look, but don't touch.. Gee, wonder how many enemies I just made I have more respect for hunters who kill and make use of their quarrey than to phoney conservationists that think its a good idea to meddle in every critters business And yeah 46er... I feel better now too !!!

 

[bobpbx]

Here is the process: bait them, grab, constrain, touch, pet, attach.....disturb!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10214712408782978&set=oa.10155946435058256&type=3&theater

 

[GermanG]

My 2 cents on the issue is that painting with a broad brush when either condemning or defending activities such as this tends to lean more towards idealism than realism. I'm 100% sure that much wildlife research done is for reasons other than gaining valuable information that is not currently available. But much good information has been and will be received from it in the future. One good example is the Red Knot. Without banding studies we would not have known the extent of this bird's migration, the hardships experienced, and the importance of protecting the feeding stations along their migration route (as well as the species they depend on, like the horseshoe crab). Sometimes the answer to life's questions doesn't fit on a bumper sticker.

 

[NJChileHead]

My 2 cents on the issue is that painting with a broad brush when either condemning or defending activities such as this tends to lean more towards idealism than realism. I'm 100% sure that much wildlife research done is for reasons other than gaining valuable information that is not currently available. But much good information has been and will be received from it in the future. One good example is the Red Knot. Without banding studies we would not have known the extent of this bird's migration, the hardships experienced, and the importance of protecting the feeding stations along their migration route (as well as the species they depend on, like the horseshoe crab). Sometimes the answer to life's questions doesn't fit on a bumper sticker.

While reading the debate above regarding banding, the red knot came to mind as well.

 

[dragoncjo]

I agree with idealism vs realism. If there was vast amount of lands where animals could roam free of human interactions then I am a hands off type. Reality is humans constantly disrupt the environment and sometimes its necessary to perform studies and research for long term solutions. When I was active in the barrens, it seemed there was lots to learn when we tracked timber rattlesnakes. Wetlands were they den where id’d and hopefully protected in future. On the other hand far too many transmitters have been put in pine snakes over time. Not sure what really has been gained over time from this. So in general it depends on the situation from my perspective.